After the forced break due to the pandemic, in 2021, the most polished Hungarian rally race returned to the roads of Baranya with a partially renewed organizing team, several innovations, and subsequently being chosen as the Rally of the Year. This time, the press chief of the 55th Mecsek Rallye the sports leader, Tibor Markó interrogates; asked to look back and share a lot of new information from this year.

In 2020, covid (also) sent the entire sports world to the floor, so the Mecsek Rally also fell victim. In 2021, therefore, it was obviously surrounded by increased attention, as both the competitors and the fans were "hungry" waiting for the meeting. Did this situation make it difficult to organize?

After the big closures and restrictions, life started to get back to normal around this time, the 54th Mecsek Rally was, for example, the first big domestic race, so there were still minor bumps. But overall, it even increased our motivation to work together again after such a long time. PSN Zrt. remained the official director, while Róbert Lakatos and myself have just joined the sports team. The goal was renewal, a noticeable change in direction, and the creation of a fresh approach, while maintaining previous results and good traditions. The enthusiastic work of hundreds of people, organizers and sports judges brought the result: the race was a clear sporting and public success. We were able to keep our Euro position, and the MNASZ chose Mecsek as the rally race of the year.

At the same time, these happy news also mean that the standard was already high at the beginning of this year, and the goal will obviously not be just maintaining the level. So how to proceed? 

We really want to make some progress again, János Máté together with the CEO of PSN Zrt., the head of the organizing committee, we are thinking about a 3-5-year, gradually developing project, constantly raising the standard. Of course, this is easier to plan than to make it come true in everyday life, especially since the organization of the car race requires not only ideas and work, but also a lot of money, so one of the main tasks now is to create a secure financial background.

What changes, especially special things, can the competitors and the fans who persistently accompany them to the "end of the world" expect at the Mecsek Rallye in 2022?

The program is here! Since our main goal is for both competitors and spectators to leave the race satisfied, we are already making a change here compared to the previous ones, and even a little compared to the other ORB races. In the domestic evaluation, the required competition distance is 100 kilometers, but for the Hungarian field, we also prescribed nearly 140 kilometers for the European competitors, that is, much more than the usual distance in our country. (In the meantime, the EHRC competition announcement and the Rally Guide_1 document were completed and published on the website, so the detailed program can already be viewed there - Ed.). Thanks to the extended competition distance, the competition received a multiplier of 1.2 in the domestic evaluation. We want to ensure variety with two components: one, that this year's program includes 2 tracks that have not been included in the range of competitions in this form before, and the other is that the competitors go through each location twice. Since the shortest section is 10.80 km and the longest is 18.50 km, the participants reach a total distance of nearly 140 km by completing a total of 10 speeds on the five types of tracks.

Contrary to the original plans, Rali2 will not pay its respects at Mecse, but we still have a pleasant surprise in store for the smaller categories. What exactly will it be?

Yes, it is the Just4Fun deposit race authorized by MNASZ RSB. For this, perhaps I can say, as truly unique, we are waiting for mainly younger drivers, I emphasize, in a limited number, who are just winking at the ORB, but who already have a valid (R2, R3) Hungarian license, and their car also has the required logbook. The competition will be 2 days for them as well, and although they will have 8 speeds instead of 10, they will still complete the Hungarian Rali1 OB level race distance, 107 kilometers at a speed different from the rules, at a favorable price. In other words, with a real competitive atmosphere, yet with an affordable budget.

The competitors, teams, small and large are therefore checked off; let's see what we have in store for the viewers.

I can't report on sensations here, but we are aiming for a higher level of service this year as well. For example, unlike many other competitions, we do not charge an entrance ticket this time either. On the other hand, we plan to establish "Fun Zones" in easily visible and accessible places, viewing points that provide spectators with added value beyond watching the competition. The fan zones of the 55th Mecsek Rallye will be filled with the following content: organized and free parking, also organized - in some places already selective - waste collection, mobile toilets, buffets and one-on-one atmosphere responsible, who (also) ensures a good atmosphere during the breaks between races, as well as will be responsible for the communication of information related to the competition with sound, live results, good mood, abundance, music. In the form we imagined and planned to implement, these "Fun Zones" will be pioneers in our small country, and if they pass well, we will deal with their further development in the future. On the other hand, I would also like to ask everyone, for their own safety and for the smoothness and success of the competition, to comply with the regulations for spectators and director's instructions in the speed stages; an accident-free race is more important than anything else!

As an insider, I understand that you haven't told me all the "extras" about this year.

Indeed, we are preparing even more programs, primarily favorable to viewers and sports lovers, about which I will provide information later. Our stated intention is to achieve and repeat the satisfaction and faith of fans achieved last year with the Mecsek Rallye, the justification of going to the race, and its value this year as well. It is difficult to keep up with the Internet and the accelerated flow of information, but I believe that with the right service, it is possible to recall - if only partially - the much-mentioned previous interest and enthusiasm of viewers. We would like to contribute to this with additional unique and special experiences that can only be experienced on site. And whoever gets to know it once, tastes the atmosphere of the forest resounding from the als or a warrior aspirated engine, the sight of the brake disc glowing in the dark, or the crowd scanned by the trembling light of the line of lamps, the smell of brakes, tires or racing gasoline, will hopefully remain a member for a long time to this big family and will continue to come, support and help keep alive the special thing that we simply call rally. We will announce further details a little later.

More and more documents are being published with details, what and where can interested parties find them?

In any case, the most reliable source is our website, mecsekrallye.com. The EHRC, i.e. Historic Rally EB competition notice has been available for about a month, and the so-called Rally Guide_1 document for the Hungarian championship, the Mitropa Cup and the CEZ Historic Championship is also available, which also contains more official and additional information about the competition and the about the competition venue in general. And we can finally announce the official, approved competition notice for the Hungarian championships, Mitropa Cup and CEZ competitions, which was approved by the ASN today. The most important date for the competitors from now on is: June 7, 2022, as this is the deadline for entries, so far we are waiting for the entries of the teams and competitors.

At the end of our conversation, we will inform those interested a little about the information acquisition itself. Where and on what interfaces will they find the most important information about locations, times, road closures for road users, and finally about news and results during the race.

The official website of the competition is www.mecsekrallye.com (so no .hu the end!). Among the social networking sites, Facebook will be the primary one, but I would also like to draw attention to the fact that several older and troll sites are also available on the portal. The director's, therefore only official site a https://www.facebook.com/MecsekRallyeEvent/ - all the others, even if Mecsek Rallye is mentioned in its name, even if it uses the logo, it is not official, and since we have no influence on it, we cannot take responsibility for what is published there. If you are interested in fresh and authentic news, join us and become our follower here: Mecsek Rallye Event!